


I'm really sorry this keeps happening

by sapphirebluerubyredroses



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cerberus the Alaskan Husky, M/M, au or canon divergence?, hints of other relationships in there, simple fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 06:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21031781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirebluerubyredroses/pseuds/sapphirebluerubyredroses
Summary: “Cerberus! Cerberus, come back here!”Scowling, Nico glanced up from the book he had propped up against his knees to see a mass of fur flying towards him. He yelped, scrambling back against his tree, but it was all in vain. The dog was on top of him in moments, a slick tongue licking up his cheek, into his ear, across his nose......Or where Nico is minding his own business, but he keeps getting jumped by a very friendly Husky.





	I'm really sorry this keeps happening

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt that I did on my Tumblr several years back that I neglected to bring over which will be the last since I don't have anymore, haha. I tried not to change anything so that it's as close to the original as possible. There's a few words changed to make it easier to read. Grammatical things. So on. Nothing crazy. Enjoy!
> 
> Prompt from cedarleaf: "Percico: I'm really sorry this keeps happening, my dog just really likes you"

“Cerberus! Cerberus, come back here!”

Scowling, Nico glanced up from the book he had propped up against his knees to see a mass of fur flying towards him. He yelped, scrambling back against his tree, but it was all in vain. The dog was on top of him in moments, a slick tongue licking up his cheek, into his ear, across his nose.

“Cereberus, heel!” someone yelled in Greek, and the dog disappeared from Nico’s chest, giving him a chance to catch his breath and wipe at his face. “I let you off your leash for two seconds, and you attack an innocent bystander. There’s no reason for that,” the voice admonished.

A hand, tanned and long fingered, extended down to Nico, and reluctantly, he took it. He was hoisted to his feet. It was a few more moments before he realized that the man was talking to him.

“I’m so sorry, he’s never done that before. I don’t know what’s gotten in to him. He really doesn’t like men, so I thought it would be fine, but I guess not,” the statement was directed sharply towards the dog, “Are you alright?” A hand ran down his back, brushing grass and bark from his shirt, before traveling to the front to pick at the dog hair that had stuck into the material.

Nico batted the hand away, stepping back to take in the man and the dog at his side. He had a mess of black hair with sea green eyes, an apologetic smile curling up the corners of his lips. The Alaskan Husky at his side grinned widely, his tale swishing back and forth happily. Catching Nico’s eye, he rushed at him once more.

“Cerberus!” the man shouted, grabbing for the dog’s choke chain, but missing by a mere inch. The dog bowled into Nico’s legs, twisting around and through them. Nico’s knees buckled under the onslaught. “Heel! Cerberus Jackson, you listen to me, heel!” Guiltily, the Husky untwisted itself from Nico, slinking towards the man. He clipped the leash back into place, wrapping it around his hand several times. “I’m really sorry about this. I know I trained him better.”

Stooping to scoop up his book and wipe his spilled tea from the cover, he grumbled, “It’s fine. Animals don’t usually like me, so it’s kind of a nice change. Dad always says its because they can smell the grave on me.”

“Oh, do you work in a graveyard?”

“Not exactly.” Uncomfortable silence filled the space between them. “You named your dog Cerberus? He doesn’t even look like Cerberus, and I don’t mean in the three headed sense.”

The man laughed, dropping down a hand to scratch between the dog’s ears. “That’s exactly what my dad said. ‘_I’ve seen Cerberus, and he definitely does not look like Cerberus. Cerberus would use him as a chew toy. You think you’re funny, don’t you_?’ I thought it would rankle my uncle’s hackles, and it did. I got a very angry worded talking to about respecting mythical creatures a few days later.” He laughed again as he pulled back his sleeve to look at his watch. “Oh, crap! Cerberus, look what you’ve done! We’re going to be late! Annabeth is going to wring my neck if I miss the ultrasound!”

He turned to sprint away, but spun back towards Nico at the last moment. “Again, I’m sorry. It was nice to meet you… I don’t think I got your name.”

“Nico di Angelo.”

“Percy Jackson. It was nice to meet you, but I really have to go to this ultrasound. Maybe I’ll see you around.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and sprinted back the way they had come, Cerberus bounding along at his side.

Percy had just disappeared when cold began to seep into his bones, and Nico turned to face Hades. A self-satisfied smirk twisted his lips as he said, “It’s too bad he’s straight, isn’t it?”

Tucking his book against his side, he muttered, “Go away, Dad,” as he pulled out his cell and shot Hazel a text. They technically weren’t supposed to carry them, but it was too hard to keep in touch otherwise. That, and he never seemed to have any drachma on him.

“Come now, don’t be like that.”

“Just because Will and I broke up doesn’t mean that gives you permission to try and hook me up with every mortal guy that comes along,” Nico snapped irritably, grabbing his empty cup from the ground and depositing it in the first trashcan that they passed.

Hades laughed, already fading into the shadows. “Who said anything about mortals?”

…..

Nico didn’t run into Percy for months after that, and he’d all but forgotten the dangers of reading in the afternoon sunlight. He lay in the shaded sand beneath an umbrella Hazel had specifically brought for him. He watched, propped up on his elbows, the Kindle Hazel had gotten him for his birthday resting on his stomach, as Leo picked her up and charged into the waves. She cried out in surprise as they crashed into the water.

A black pearl, actually sea green in color, appeared beside him. He rolled it between his fingers, holding it out of the cover of shade to inspect it in the sunlight. It shimmered with a light dusting of rainbow at him. He supposed rarity and value didn’t stop at gems and precious metals. The color reminded him of something… someone’s eyes?

“Cerberus, don’t!”

Nico didn’t have time to react to the shout this time. The mass of fur that made up Cerberus slammed him to the sand, licking every patch of available skin and whining incessantly.

“Cerberus, no! Heel!” Percy shouted as he darted across the scorching sand towards them, catching Cerberus’ collar as he trotted back to Percy’s side. “You haven’t done that in months. Why…” He trailed off as Nico pushed himself to his feet, wiping at the slobber and sand mixture that coated him, his nose scrunched up in distaste. “Hey, Nico, it’s been awhile. How have you been?”

Nico flushed, heat staining his cheeks as he took in Percy’s shirtless torso and swimming shorts. “Well, I haven’t been covered in dog saliva if that’s what you’re asking.”

Percy laughed, rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. He really only does this with you. He doesn’t even get this excited around Jason. Speaking of the devil… Jason! Piper! Annabeth! Over here!” he called, waving his arms over his head.

A trio, a man and two women approached them. One woman was brown skinned with brunette hair that shone slightly red in the sunlight. The second woman, her stomach rounded with pregnancy, had blonde hair and the kind of tanned skin that came from being outdoors for at least sixteen hours a day. The man, a blond with a scar at the corner of his lip, Nico knew all too well. Maybe a little too well for the comfort of meeting his new girlfriend.

“Guys, this is Nico. Cerberus had jumped him twice now. Nico, this is Annabeth, Piper and-”

Jason cut in, a grin tugging at his mouth. “We know each other. We went flying one time. He did not enjoy it at all.”

The blush on Nico’s cheeks invaded his neck, reaching down towards his chest. He spit, “We agreed never to talk about that again, Grace. It should be considered unnatural to be able to fly.”

Jason laughed, continuing. “Like raising the dead isn’t unnatural? Nico was my roommate last year for our freshman year of college. Or, wait, no, your boyfriend was my roommate, but you were over so often that it was like you were my roommate too,” he corrected himself, “How is Solace anyway?”

Nico’s face went artfully blank. “Who knows? Happily getting along with some other boy, I assume.”

“What? You two broke up? Why? You guys seemed like you were really good for each other,” Jason asked, his smile turning down.

“There’s no happiness for the wicked, Jason, you know that. Not everybody gets Aphrodite’s blessing.”

Jason scowled. “That’s not true and yo-”

Percy stepped between them. “That’s enough, Grace. This conversation can be saved for a later time,” he told him sternly. They stared each other down for a long moment. Cerberus growled ominously, taking up a position in front of Nico as well.

“Is that Jason Grace? How long has it been?” Leo shouted, slowing to a stop beside them. He bent over, clasping his knees as he gasped for breath. “And Piper too? The whole gang is back together! Is you girlfriend having a baby, Pipes?”

Piper nodded, a grin taking the place of her frown. “She sure is. Actually, she’s carrying triplets courtesy of Percy, and I’m pregnant too, courtesy of Jason. If we’d known that Annabeth was going to have triplets, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant so soon, but çe la vie, right? How’s Calypso?”

“She’s good. We obviously finally got her off of the island. She’s working today. Frank too. She’ll be sad she missed you.”

“We’ll just have to meet up again then,” Piper suggested. They moved away, Leo rummaging in his bag for his cell.

Silence engulfed the group until Hazel finally made it back up the beach, drenched, her cinnamon hair a mess atop her head. She glanced over the four, taking in Cerberus’ defensive posture, Percy and Jason’s glares, Nico’s blank expression, and Annabeth’s watchful eyes. Straightening, she put on a bright smile. “Jason, Annabeth, it’s good to see you again, and it seems like you’ve brought Piper along too. This must be Cerberus, so you must be Percy. It’s nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand, waiting patiently as he gaped at her.

“How did you-”

“Cerberus, besides the real one, is the only dog who has ever willingly come into physical contact with my brother, it wasn’t a hard jump to make. So, you’re the guy who keeps letting his dog jump my brother.”

Percy spluttered, at a loss for words.

Hazel patted him on the hand, smiling gently. “Don’t worry. I’m not mad. I won’t give you a cursed jewel or anything. He needs some excitement in his life.”

Annabeth laughed loudly as Percy joined Nico in turning the color of tomatoes.

…..

Nico was sulking in his empty apartment, eating the Chinese takeout he was supposed to be sharing with Reyna and Hazel accompanied by a poorly chosen wine and catching up on the newest season of Supernatual, when he heard the scrabbling of nails at the base of his door. A whine, long and growing in volume, slipped under the door. His cat, a surly Bengal Manx mix, narrowed her eyes at him as he stood.

“Don’t give me that look, Bianca. Do you really want the neighbors to be at our door instead of a dog?” he asked as he opened the door. He was shoved to the hardwood, the breath going out of his lungs as the mass of fur pressed him down, licking at him.

“Cerberus,” Percy whined, dragging the Husky off of Nico, “I’m really sorry this keeps happening, Nico, he just really likes you.”

Nico sat up, a little dazed, and simply stared at Percy. “You live in my building?”

“I live just down the hall.”

“How have I never seen you here before?” The question was more accusatory than he’d meant it to sound.

Percy ran a hand through his hair nervously. Or was that small tremor in Percy’s hand just Nico’s imagination? “I haven’t been here all that often. I’m usually over at Piper and Annabeth’s place helping them get everything ready for the babies. I don’t even come back to sleep all that often anymore.” They were silent for a long moment, just watching Cerberus wag his tail incessantly, until Percy’s stomach broke the silence. Color rose in his cheeks. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten today.”

Before he could stop himself, Nico stepped back from the door, asking, “Do you want to share some Chinese? I was supposed to eat with Hazel and Reyna, but they decided to ditch. There’s, um, wine, and I’m watching Supernatural.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I wouldn’t offer if I did.”

Nodding, Percy tentatively stepped into the apartment. “I haven’t watched the newest season yet. Is it any good?”

“Just started.”

Percy grinned. “Awesome. So… do you want to go out sometime? I still owe you for Cerberus knocking over your drink the first time we met. And now, it seems, I owe you for feeding me.”

Nico was silent for a moment, watching as the only two animals that had befriended him curled up on the couch together. Turning to Percy, he said, “I don’t think we have a choice. It doesn’t look like Cerberus is going to be going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Let’s hope he’s not the only one.”


End file.
